


You're Like a Dream Come True

by regnbaggen



Series: I'm Not a Stranger to The Dark [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Angst, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Dick is sent to a detention center instead of the orphanage, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, He's a sad boi, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Jason Todd Swears, Kid Dick Grayson, Non-Consensual Blow Jobs, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Jason Todd, Racism, Slurs, age is not accurate i know, but jason's there too!!!!, ish?, non con is not between Dick and Jason!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:49:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regnbaggen/pseuds/regnbaggen
Summary: Eight year old Dick Grayson is sent to Linden Juvenile Detention Centre instead of Gotham's orphanage after his parent's fall. He meets fourteen year old Jason Todd and the rest is but a memory.Or is it?Years later a new talon starts attacking Gotham and old friends meet under tougher circumstances, can broken things be put back together? What happens when dreams and realities are closer than you think and WHAT IS UP with Jason Todd's swearing issues??? Like please stop, we need flowers! ):If you like reading slow-burn then this is not for you, we do things hard and fast over here (;
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Original Character(s), Dick Grayson/Original Male Character(s)
Series: I'm Not a Stranger to The Dark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105457
Comments: 22
Kudos: 181





	1. Chasing Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will jump between two different periods of time. One of them will be the present which is Talon's perspective, however, when Talon dreams/remembers the perspective will be Dick's at Linden. The change will be shown by the following symbol ' : '  
> When the colon shows it'll be Dick's perspective and it will end when the colon appears again.  
> Their ages have also been changes, Jason is the oldest of the brothers' and you'll notice that Dick's age pretty much stays the same throughout the story since (I've decided that) talons age slower (a lot slower) than humans which is why Dickie is still around 8-10 years old ((:  
> ALSO be aware of the fact that there is slurs in this work that are used against Romani people, the author does in no way use these slurs, however, there are characters that are.

Talon was looking out over the city. The Court had told it to make sure it wasn't seen by anyone so hiding by the gargoyles seemed like the best course of action. It could see the target from here, he was standing in an alley with his buyers, clearly unaware of his audience. All Talon had to do was wait for the perfect moment. After it's latest punishment Talon was ready to finally complete this mission. The coffin back at the Court was horrible and Talon didn't like it, although Talon wasn't supposed to like anything, Talon was supposed to be completely neutral like a weapon, only following it's Master's orders. Still, something wasn't right and Talon didn't want to tell the Court, they would definitely put it in the coffin for longer, maybe another couple of years. Talon wouldn't be able to do anything about it, body stuck; paralyzed while freezing and staring into nothingness.

Talon shivers. No, Talon had to succeed, the target was an easy one. The Court clearly wanted to see if Talon would be capable of missions, if Talon was good then maybe it would never have to get back into the coffin, maybe it would get to be like Cobb, the best Talon. Cobb never had to go into the coffin, Cobb got to have a normal life like the targets Talon was ordered to eliminate.

"Hey, this is kind of my spot so if you-" A male voice states somewhere behind Talon and Talon immediately takes out a knife and turns, already holding the blade to the person's throat.

Red Hood.

"Shit, aren't you a little young to be a talon?" Hood huffs, pushing Talon's knife away from his throat as Talon quietly scolds itself for not paying attention.

"Red Hood do not interfere with the Court of Owls or you will be eliminated." Talon states lowly, causing Red Hood to huff.

"Come on kid, I'm here for the same reason as you are. You want Bundy dead right? Me too, so how about we work together." Hood suggests and Talon hesitates.

The Court had not given it any instructions for this, they had only stated that any hindrance was to be eliminated.

"Stay out of it's way." Talon huffs, turning back towards the target but staying alert if Red Hood would choose to attack.

"I'm guessing you're referring to yourself as _it_? That's fucking disgusting, didn't think the Court would stoop this low but here we fucking are." Hood continues and Talon tries to ignore him, Talon needed to focus.

The target had gotten into a fight with the buyer, they were arguing and Talon could see the men around them reaching for their weapons. Talon would probably have to eliminate all of them, the Court had told Talon to make sure no witnesses would be left to send a message that no one was safe.

"Hey- hey you can't just go in there without a plan, you'll get yourself killed." Hood hisses, grabbing Talon's arm.

" _Let go_." Talon hisses back, whipping out it's knife and Hood lets go.

"Listen, how about we make a plan for this. You-"

Talon ignores Hood and flips off the building and down onto the ground, whipping out blades at it's victims. Talon can hear Hood swearing, jumping after it. Talon works fast, efficiently eliminating the threats standing in the way of it the target.

"Hector Bundy, the Court of Owls have sentenced you to die." Talon states before slitting the target's throat.

The sound of a gun being loaded causes Talon to turn as a bullet is shot, entering Talon's stomach. Talon whips out it's sword, quickly flipping over to the man shooting. Talon quickly thrusts the sword into his stomach, he lets out a gurgling sound as blood bubbles up and leaves his mouth. Talon pulls out the sword and wipes it on the man. He's raising his gun for a second time, firing into into Talon's stomach again. Talon can hear Hood shouting behind it but Talon ignores him and pushes the man down on the ground, efficiently slitting his throat before taken two steps back. Everyone's been eliminated except for Hood, but maybe Talon could let him go since Hood had helped it?

"Shit you okay?!" Hood asks, hurrying up to Talon and Talon turns towards him. Hood's red helmet had splashes of a darker shade of red on it and Talon could see more blood on his jacket and pants.

"Do not interfere with the Court Red Hood." Talon manages, the throbbing in it's stomach was making it hard to focus.

"Shut up, let me see the wound." Hood pushes against Talon's suit, checking the bleeding wound. Hood pushes Talon's mask off as well, the googles following and Hood suddenly freezes once his eyes lock onto Talon's face.

"D-Dick?"

Talon stops. There was something about that word that Talon remembered, deep down somewhere Talon knows that word. Somewhere inside Talon a warm feeling erupts and Talon stares at Hood.

"Dick, Dick hey it's me. Fuck it's me, Jason." Hood states, ripping off his helmet, still wearing a domino mask underneath but Talon remembers those eyes; deep blue, like an ocean- no. No not like an ocean but rather like an iceberg. Ready to tear into anything in it's way..

"Talon does not-"

"Fuck Dickie it's _me_. It's me, Jason- fuck what did they do to you?" Hood asks, looking more distraught by the second.

Jason.

That's a strange word, Talon feels like it knows that name. A bleak memory of a young boy with a mop of messy jet black hair and the same eyes at Hood.

Talon grips it's head with both hands, closing it's eyes. No, something was wrong, it had to be recalibrated, get back into the coffin. Talon lets out a choked pained sound it definitely wasn't supposed to make, what if the Court would hear it? What if- what if they were watching it right now?

Talon immediately looks around, chest dropping as it watches another talon is observing it with Hood. Talon almost hits itself, of course the Court would monitor Talon on it's first mission in years. Now the Court would put Talon back in it's coffin, Talon didn't want that and what if the Court was going to hurt Hood too? Wait why would Talon care? Talon wasn't supposed to care.

"Hey- hey breathe, breathe Dickie. Calm down it's okay it's-"

" _No_! No, talon!" Talon manages and Hood looks to where the other talon was watching them.

"Fuck, fuck come with me I'll-"

"No! No do- do not interfere with the Court!" Talon hisses, pushing away from Hood and grabbing it's blade and mask.

Talon chucks the blade into the other talon's neck. Talon quickly throws out a grappling line, flying through the air to the other talon now laying on a roof. Talon knows enough how to kill a talon, it quickly takes it's blade and stabs it through the other talon's head, making sure to slash the brain enough that it wouldn't be able to regenerate. Hood jumps up on the same roof, moving towards Talon.

"Leave Talon alone!" Talon hisses, causing Hood to hold his hands up.

"I'm sorry, Dick please-"

"You're going to get Talon punished, you're- you're hurting Talon!" Talon exclaims weakly and Hood stares at Talon with wide sad eyes.

"Do not interfere with the Court." Talon repeats before turning and grappling away and disappears into the dark night of Gotham City while Hood stares after it.

.

Talon is praised when it gets back. The Masters are content with it's mission, Talon doesn't say anything about Red Hood or the other talon and the Masters don't ask. Talon is forced back into it's coffin, not that Talon fights it. Talon isn't supposed to fight against the Masters, Talon is supposed to obey.

Once Talon is locked into it's coffin Talon's eyes slowly closes and Talon let's the coldness cover it, this is what death must feel like. Slow, paralyzing Talon's body and mind, except one more of Talon's fault, Talon's weren't supposed to dream when they were put into that empty state of mind once the cold overtakes them, but Talon always manages to start dreaming. Talon likes dreams, they're nice and all Talon has to do is relax. This time Talon dreams a dream that almost feels as if it was real. 

:

Dick had been at the detention centre for almost a week now. Things at Linden Juvenile Detention Centre were very different from the life Dick had at the circus. The rude woman who had explained to him that the orphanage was overcrowded and that Richard would have to stay at Linden for the time being. She had told him to not get into trouble before taking him to the only place on earth that could resemble the hell that was waiting for her after she dumps Dick to a prison guard waiting for him while holding a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a sweatshirt along with a white t-shirt, the standard outfit at Linden.

Dick's roommate; Jack was two years older than him and has big silver eyes and a mop of blonde hair. Just like Jack, most of the kids are older than Dick but none of them are as nice as Jack is. Jack shows Dick how things are done here, he helps Dick to the cafeteria and tells Dick stories about how his life was before Linden. Jack becomes a friend, something Dick's never had before. 

"Hey Rickie you coming? It's almost time for class." Jack's voice pulls Dick out of his thoughts and Dick quickly jumps down off his bunk in their small cell.

He follows Jack out of their cell and to their classroom. School was another different thing. Dick hadn't gone to a school when he was in the circus, his parents had taught him about the subjects in their trailer. Dick liked that, they always told him how smart he was and that he would grow up to learn more about everything as he became older. School at Linden however, was entirely different. It was held by an old man with small squared black glasses perched up on the brig of his nose, a permanent scowl was detailing his forehead and Dick had gotten the impression that he despised his job. The school was also in a room full of desks where he had to sit down quietly and listen, he almost never got to talk or ask questions, not that Dick really needed to since he already knew most of the things their teacher talked about. The other boys seemed to have no problem with the arrangements, most of them didn't seem to care. Those weren't the boys that their teacher, Mr. Brown, tormented though. No, it was boys like Jack and Dick who held no power at Linden and had no protection from Mr. Brown, something Dick had encountered on his first day and hopefully never had to repeat.

Dick quickly sits down in a seat next to Jack in the very front. The older boys had claimed the seats in the back, Jack had told him that the last person who tried to take the wrong seat had gotten beat up in the classroom without Mr. Brown caring, apparently the boy had been escorted out by a guard who'd finally been called after the beating was done and then they had class like nothing happened. Jack sends over one of his worn-down pencils, Dick gratefully takes it sending a shy smile to Jack. He's the only one who has been kind to Dick, the only one who seemed to like Dick; the guards hate him, the other kids dislike him and makes fun of him for his ethnicity.

"Settle down. We'll start with math, everyone can write after me-" Mr. Brown starts. He's turned towards the big chalkboard and is writing down an equation that Dick quickly scribbles down, he solves it almost instantly since his dad always was good at math and a good teacher, nothing like Mr. Brown.

"Now, can anyone of you scums tell me what the answer is?" Mr. Brown asks, looking around in the room. Dick knows it, but Mr. Brown had told him that he was a little know-it-all and that he was a _dirty gypsy_ last time he tried to answer. Instead, Mr. Brown turns to a boy with short dreads and asks him, in which the boy just shrugs.

"That's what I thought. None of you good-for-nothings know anything about this, not that you will need to know this anyways. Most of you will probably just move up into the next level; the real prison." Mr. Brown huffs out, causing Dick to shrink in his seat.

"Perhaps the _Gypsy_ can tell us then? You who seem to know everything." Mr. Brown states sarcastically and Dick immediately shakes his head, looking down at his paper.

"No? Answer me when I'm talking to you boy!" Mr. Brown hisses angrily as he bends his upper body over Dick, intimidating him enough that Dick's fingers clutch Jack's pencil until it almost breaks.

"No sir." Dick whispers, wishing that he wasn't here, that he was at the circus with Zitka or his parents. Mr. Brown straightens, turning back to the board and leaves Dick alone for the remainder of the class.

Afterwards Dick follows Jack to the courtyard. The courtyard was small, not small enough that all of the boys would run into each other but small enough that Dick felt trapped. The large fence was threatening enough and the spikes on top were making Dick's stomach roll. Inside the courtyard was an old basketball hoop and one basketball along with some benches scattered around the rest of the yard.

"I'm sorry that Mr. Brown is so mean to you, he's really the worst." Jack comments when they sit down a bit further away from the rest of the boys by one of the benches.

"It's okay." Dick answers, hands playing with the sleeves of his too big sweatshirt.

"Yeah, well at least you're smart. You're like the smartest person ever Rickie!" Jack states and Dick sends him a small smile.

"You too, you're really good at reading and storytelling." Dick counters and Jack shrugs.

"I'm really glad we're friends Rickie, you're like my brother." Jack smiles and Dick instantly lights up. He's always wanted a sibling, someone he could talk to and play with and Jack could be that. He was nice and maybe one day they could have a home together and Jack's parents could take him in too.

"I'm really happy about that too!"

"Yeah and I'm going to teach you about everything you need to know, don't worry Rickie." Jack smiles and Dick edges closer until their sides are touching. It's nice and while Jack continues to tell Dick about things he knows and can teach Dick, Dick watches the boys who are playing basketball.

One boy stands out, the sleeves of his blue Linden sweatshirt are pushed up to his elbows and he's definitely the best player. Dick watches as he dribbles past the other boys and sends the ball into the hoop with extreme precision. "Todd stop being a show-off!" One of the boy's shout and the boy, Todd, smirks back at him.

"Stop sucking at the game then Harper." The other boys laughs at Harper who just huffs as they start playing again.

Todd.

Dick had seen him in class, sitting in the middle somewhere to the far right of the room. He wasn't as mean as the other older boys, he just looks at Dick sometimes before turning back towards his friends. Dick didn't know why he liked him, but there was something about Todd that captivated Dick, Todd was different than the rest of the boys. There was something about him, almost glowing and Dick would say that it was his strength and not the kind you use at the circus to swing the mallet, a different kind of strength that Dick wasn't sure on how to define or make of. Todd suddenly turns towards him as if he can feel Dick's stare, they stare at each other for maybe one second; Todd's eyes tearing into Dick's soul while Dick's stay on the surface of Todd, an eternity passes before Todd turns back to the game with a frustrated look.

"Rickie? Are you listening or not?" Jack asks and Dick immediately looks back at him.

"Sorry, can you say it again?" Dick asks and Jack quickly repeats how he was going to teach Dick about how to make the best chocolate chip cookies and starts a story of how him and his mom used to do them in the middle of the night and how they wouldn't look good but taste amazing. Dick listens while his eyes move towards the rest of the courtyard. By another corner with two big benches sat Tony and his gang. Tony was the boy who was running Linden in every way that counted, he and his gang had contacts within the whole system and Jack had told him that Tony had hurt people here and the last guy who didn't do as he wanted had gotten stabbed.

Tony's eyes turn towards Dick and Dick immediately looks away, instead turning back towards Jack as he tries to listen to his new idea of going out fishing somewhere by Gotham bay.

"Hey, Tony wants to talk to you." A voice states and both of them look up to see one of Tony's boys standing in front of them looking at Jack.

"M-Me?" Jack asks nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, hurry up." The boy states, pushing chocolate brown hair out of his eyes and Jack gulps before looking back at Dick.

"C-Can you come with?" He asks and the boy immediately stops Dick.

"No, either you come alone or you'll regret it." The boy states and Jack slowly gets up, leaving Dick with an unsure look on his face.

Dick watches him walk towards Tony and his gang, they're five boys in total and all of them look like they're around fifteen to seventeen years old. Jack slowly walks up to Tony, mostly being pushed forward by the boy getting him. Tony says something to Jack, too quiet for Dick to hear from the other side of the courtyard. Jack nervously replies and Dick wants to walk over there and help him, but what if he gets Jack in trouble?

The sound of someone yelling causes Dick to turn his gaze back to Todd and the others who are playing basketball. There was someone on the ground, shouting at Todd who was standing over him. Todd's shoved back by the other guys, the words he's saying aren't any that Dick's parents would allow and Dick shivers as he listens to Todd's swearing. Todd storms away from them and Dick swallows when he realizes that Todd his heading directly towards him and he looks pissed.

"Can you quit fucking staring at me!?" Todd growls and Dick immediately shrinks on the bench, pulling at his sleeves.

"I'm not." He says weakly and Todd lets out a humorous laugh, spitting onto the ground.

"Hell yeah you are. Stop, you're gaining what clearly is unwanted attention." Todd states and Dick wants to look away but he can't turn away from Todd's deep eyes.

"-and I have to fucking get into trouble because of you so fucking stop." Todd continues and Dick only manages to catch the last part.

"W-why are you getting in trouble?"

"Because everyone's fucking trash-talking you and you can't stop fucking staring at me." Todd growls out and Dick swallows.

"Well, you're looking at me too." He says boldly and Todd huffs out another laugh.

"Yeah because you're staring at me, idiot." Todd states and Dick shakes his head.

"You stare at me before I stare at you sometimes."

"No I fucking don't-"

"You swear a lot." Dick interrupts, biting his lower lip nervously.

"Just stay out of my fucking way." Todd huffs before storming away from him.

Dick watches him walk towards a couple of other guys in the courtyard and quickly looks back at Jack and Tony before Todd can catch him staring again. Jack is nodding at something Tony is saying and Dick can almost see a smile on Jack's face when he turns and walks back to Dick.

"What did he want?" Dick asks and Jack shrugs as he sits down next to Dick.

"Just wanted to talk about Mr. Brown, no biggie."

Dick bites his lip again. Jack was lying, he could tell and Dick slowly looks back at Tony who's smirking towards them. Tony was nothing like Todd, Tony's eyes were in a dirty dark brown color, almost like mud and his hair was in a dark auburn color, nothing like Todd's jet black.

"Hey, do you want me to tell you about how to tie different knots? I'm really good at it, my dad taught me because we tied a hammock in our apartment so I could sleep there instead of on the floor." Jack states and Dick nods slowly, turning back towards him but his mind stays with the conversation Jack and Tony had.

Jack was lying to him, whatever he lied about couldn't be any good judging by Tony's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The journey has officially started!  
> Let me know what you thought of the chapter, super excited for response and thoughts!  
> The next chapter will start from Talon's perspective again!  
> Oh and to ease some confusion about the ages; Jason as Red Hood is around 19 years old while he's around 14 at Linden, Dick's age is pretty much the same since talon's don't age as fast (or at all?).
> 
> Stay safe!  
> Comments & kudos are always appreciated!


	2. Chasing Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be aware of the warnings and the tags for this chapter! Nothing that's too-graphic but it's still there.  
> There will be four chapters instead of three since I decided to change this chapter into two because it's so dang long.  
> Also for those who are confused; Damian is Redbird  
> Anyways here you go!

Talon is woken up by the Masters again, this time with a new mission. It has to eliminate Redbird, Batman's sidekick. Talon is given new weapons, better blades and a place it can stay in while watching the duo. The Masters make sure that Talon knows not to fail, that time was unlimited but failure was inevitable.

Talon is sent out into the crisp night of Gotham, making sure to stay far away from the duo while watching them.

Redbird was young, extremely experienced but his temper got the better of him during fights. Batman was almost protective of him, never letting him out of his sight and always making sure that Redbird was okay. It would be hard to split them up but Talon could see the way Redbird was driven to prove himself, it would be Redbird's downfall.

Talon spends a little over a week until Talon decides it's time. Talon makes sure to follow them so that Redbird can feel its presence. Redbird looks back during the whole patrol but doesn't say anything to Batman. Talon watches them kick down some robbers in an alley and throws out a blade, letting it penetrate the throat of the robber currently fighting Redbird. Redbird immediately looks up, spotting Talon on the roof above them. Batman's still busy with the other robbers and so Redbird shoots out a grappling cord, causing Talon to smile. Talon immediately turns and starts running, jumping from roof to roof and making sure that Redbird follows while both of them hear Batman yelling at Redbird to stay.

Talon runs until it's sure that Batman won't be able to follow them, then Talon promptly turns to an abandoned warehouse. This would be perfect, Redbird would be all alone against Talon and Talon would eliminate him with ease. Talon jumps up on one of the high beams, waiting.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Redbird shouts, running into the warehouse.

Talon stays in the shadows and watches Redbird walk through the warehouse, one hand ready to draw his swords.

"Stop with your ridiculous games!" Redbird demands angrily taking one more step so his back is to Talon and Talon makes its move. 

Talon jumps down from the beam with drawn swords, Redbird turns just at the right moment, sword clashing with Talon's.

"Redbird, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die." Talon states coldly, swiftly attacking Redbird with its other sword.

Redbird quickly deflects the blow, before he starts fighting back.

"I don't care who you are, but stop this!" Redbird shouts and Talon ignores him.

Their fight is even, Redbird has clearly been trained by the best but he lacks discipline. Talon jumps away from his blows, flipping onto walls and beams which causes Redbird's attacks to grow sloppy. Talon manages to slice into Redbird's left thigh and his side while Redbird manages to wound Talon's shoulder. Still, Talon jumps back and watches Redbird with newfound interest, Redbird was impressive for his age, a worthy opponent of the Court. Not that it really mattered, the Court wants him dead so Talon will make sure it happens.

"Coward! Fight me like a real soldier!" Redbird shouts angrily, but Talon easily deflects before managing to break Redbird's sword with Talon's own sword.

Redbird stares in disbelief at his sword before letting out an enraged sound, attacking Talon with his body and fists. Their fight lasts longer than Talon would have hoped for, both hurt but neither lets pain get the upper hand. Talon manages to break Redbird's ribs and possibly injuring the human's liver. Redbird manages to hit Talon's head hard enough that Talon grows confused for a second. One second is enough for Redbird to get the upper-hand and grabs one of Talon's swords lying near them before thrusting it deep into Talon's stomach. 

Talon lets out a gasp and Redbird stares at it while panting, slowly getting off Talon. Redbird turns to leave, but he's obviously never been taught about the Court of Owls or the talons and their healing capabilities. Talon grabs the hilt of the sword before swiftly pulling it out with a wet splash, immediately moving forward with a knife in it's hand. It would be more beneficial for the Court if Redbird was found with a talon's blade rather than a sword. Talon then ignores the pain that shouldn't be present considering that it was a talon, but it might have something to do with the fact that Talon could dream, before attacking Redbird. Talon's weight forces Redbird onto the ground and Talon flips them so Redbird is lying on his back, staring up at Talon who raises the knife before stabbing it into Redbird's right lung.

"Redbird, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die." Talon repeats, bringing the blade up high once more to finish the job. 

"Stop!" A shot rings out and the knife is shot out of Talon's hold.

Talon turns and sees the familiar red helmet. It has to hurry, Red Hood would definitely stop Talon this time. Talon turns back towards Redbird before holding Redbird in a chokehold. Redbird lets out a gasp, eyes growing big as Talon tries to break his neck as quickly as possible.

A sudden weight pushes Talon off from Redbird who lets out choked breaths.

"Dick, it's me. Calm down it's okay." Hood's voice was loud in Talon's ears, the voice matching Todd in his dream.

"Do not interfere with the Court of Owls!" Talon growls, pushing Red Hood until he's on the ground beneath Talon. 

Talon brings out another blade when another weight forces Talon off.

Batman.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!" Hood shouts as Batman grabs Talon from behind and hurls Talon into the nearest wall.

Talon hits it, hearing something snap. Pain throbs from Talon's previous wounds, but this time it's something in Talon's head.

"Shit! Shit shit Dick no, no please." Hood rushes forward, and Talon can feel something warm and sticky running from the back of it's head.

"Do not interfere-" Talon weakly tries, but the words fail Talon as it's head feels close to exploding.

"Agent A, I need you to set up the medical as soon as possible. I'm bringing Redbird in the Batmobile now, he's got a punctured lung along with multiple wounds." Batman's voice echoes in the warehouse and Talon suddenly feels Hood lifting it up into Hood's arms.

"We have to get him to Alfred too, he needs-"

"No. It's a talon, it'll heal on it's own. Leave it here." Batman growls and Hood ignores him.

"I know him, he's coming with us." Hood states, voice hardening as he walks towards a big black car.

Talon spots Redbird in Batman's arms, groaning and whimpering in pain. That was bad, it meant that Talon had failed which was not good. Talon would get punished for not completing the mission.

"Dick listen to me, you're going to be fine. Okay? I'm not leaving you again." Hood murmurs and Talon looks back up at him.

"Do _not_ put it in here Hood. It will heal fine on it's own, it's dangerous and might hurt Redbird, or worse." Batman growls and Hood growls right back, suddenly pulling out a gun and aiming it at Batman.

"Either he comes with or I'm shooting you badly enough to drive to the cave myself." Hood states coldly and Batman stays quiet until he mutters out a confirmation.

Talon doesn't remember the rest, only that Hood keeps calling it Dick.

.

Talon wakes up without feeling cold, and Talon always wakes up cold. Talon also wakes up without the feeling of the coffin walls squeezing it in.

Instead, Talon wakes up warm and on something soft.

"Dick? You awake?" A voice asks, causing Talon to immediately push itself upwards and opening it's eyes.

Talon is not at the Court anymore. It's in a small room, wrists chained to a railing on a bed. Talon is lying on a bed.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay." Hood's voice causes Talon to turn towards him.

"You- Red Hood you have interfered with the Court of Owls, expect a visit from us." Talon breathes, watching Hood sitting next to Talon's bed.

Hood wasn't wearing his normal clothes either, instead of his leather jacket Hood was wearing a black t-shirt and instead of wearing his combat pants Hood was wearing soft-looking pants.

"Yeah yeah, you feeling okay?" Hood asks and Talon shakes it's head.

Memories of Hood- or Todd, no Jason - Jay, with ocean blue eyes still reminding Talon of icebergs that could destroy or save anything in their way.

"You- you, it's you." Talon manages weakly and Hood-Todd? nods.

"Do you remember anything?" Todd asks and Talon tries to reach for Todd, but Talon's wrists are still stuck to the railings.

"You... you swear a lot." Talon says, voice weak and Todd lets out an actual laugh.

"Yeah, that's-"

The door to the room opens and Talon looks up to see a man in the doorway, around the same age as Cobb.

"Jason leave me with it." The man orders and Todd lets out an angry huff.

"Stop calling him an it, he's not. He's a real person." Todd states and Talon's head is swimming.

"Talon is... Talon is not it?" Talon asks and Todd turns back to it(?).

"Yeah that's right Dickie. You're not a thing, you're a he. You're a person, okay?" Todd answers, voice immediately softer and Talon blinks.

Talon was... a he?

"Talon is... he?"

"That's enough, _leave_." The man grunts and Talon looks up at him.

"Batman." Talon states, because this was Batman.

"Jason."

"Hell no, whatever you want to talk about you can say while I'm here." Todd states and Talon lets out a confusing laugh.

"Swearing is bad." Talon chides, remembering how he'd always have to remind Todd not to swear.

Todd turns towards him, looking just as surprised as Talon feels before his face turns into something resembling fondness.

"Yeah, sorry Dickie" Todd answers before turning back to Batman, "I'm telling you, he's in there. Just let me help him find himself." Todd was almost begging.

That wasn't like him, Talon had never heard him beg before.

"It doesn't matter. It- _he_ came here because the Court ordered him. He's a danger to all of us, Damian the most." Batman states, taking a step forward.

"It's not a request. If you won't help him then I'll fucking take him to my place, he's not going back to the Court of Owls, they'll probably hurt him for not completing his fucking mission." Todd answers, voice turning from pleading to demanding.

"Jason. He's not the same kid you knew, that boy is gone. You don't even know if this is part of the Owl's plan. What if he's lying to you? Your judgement is clouded with-"

"Oh fuck you!" Todd interrupts but Talon can't help thinking about what Batman said.

Lying.

"Jack..." Talon whispers, the name familiar.

Todd is speaking, asking him something but the walls of the room morph into other walls, colder walls.

"Jack lied... he's a liar, he's lying." Talon whispers, looking up at Todd.

"He's lying. I don't- what..."

Todd's face slowly disappears from Talon's view and everything sort of blurs together.

:

Dick doesn't have to wait long to find out what Jack was lying about.

Two days later he's woken up by someone dragging him out of his bed and onto the cement floor in their cell.

"Scream and you're dead." A cold voice states that Dick knows belongs to the boy who fetched Jack for Tony at the courtyard.

"Stop!" Dick tries to get out of their grip but two of Tony's boys are holding him still, delivering quick blows when Dick tries to fight them.

"Shut up." Tony growls and suddenly Dick feels a cool blade against his face.

"You really are pretty, guess the Gypsy's really have the best DNAs when it comes to looks." Tony murmurs, tracing Dick's face with his knife.

Dick stays deathly still, staring up at him with defiant eyes. So this was what Jack had talked to Tony about, since Jack was laying quietly in his bunk and not doing anything. Dick's suddenly filled with a feeling he's never felt before. He feels sick and angry at Jack, who's betrayed him like this. Weren't they brothers?

"Listen when I'm talking to you." Tony growls and backhands Dick hard enough for tears to slowly crawl out of Dick's eyes.

"That's it, now I'm only going to tell you this once. Bite down and I'll slit your throat." Tony states coldly and before Dick can understand what happens someone pries his mouth open and something slimy is forcing it's way into his mouth.

A groan from Tony causes Dick to immediately close his eyes. He knows what it is, the taste and the smell is overwhelming and Dick's tears double as it's forced deeper into his throat. He tries to pull away, to do anything to get away from Tony and his boys but they hold him tight enough to bruise and one of Tony's hands are holding onto his dark locks into a death grip, guiding him forward while the other hand holds his knife to Dick's throat.

It's disgusting and humiliating at the same time. Dick can do nothing but endure it, the same way his parents died. He can't do anything but wait for it to end, gagging every time Tony forces himself deeper. His groans are deafening and Dick desperately keeps his eyes shut. Maybe he can just imagine himself somewhere else, back at his platform looking out over the audience. Their cheering drowns out Tony and Dick waves down at them before swinging out above them, he soars and everything is okay. He's okay up here, he's untouchable, indestructible.

Dick only comes back to himself when he's backhanded again and Dick falls from his trapeze back to the cold cement ground.

"Thanks Gypsy, we'll see each other soon again." Tony smiles down at him before leaving the cell with the two other boys who were holding him down.

Dick desperately holds in his vomit when the taste hits him again but he ignores it and slowly moves to the small sink in their room. Dick slowly starts rinsing his mouth, his face, everywhere Tony's touched him. Jack stays quiet but Dick knows that he's awake, that he's been listening, letting Tony and his boys do this to Dick. Once Dick's finally rinsed out the taste as much as he can he climbs back up on his bunk and crawls under his blanket. He pulls it over his face, childishly hoping that it would shield himself from everything hurtful.

.

Jack doesn't say anything about that night.

Instead, he tries to talk to Dick like nothing's ever happened. Dick ignores him, he ignores everything. He ignores when their cell is opened by a guard telling them it's time for breakfast, Dick ignores Jack telling him to come with. Dick stays facing the wall on his bunk, blanket wrapped tightly around himself. Jack lets him be, finally leaving the cell and Dick stays. The burning in his chest both from the hits yesterday as well as Jack's betrayal.

He'd betrayed Dick, lied to him and left him to Tony. Dick still didn't understand why, maybe Tony threatened Jack or worse, would give him something in return for letting them do that.

"Hey, you there get up! You're supposed to be in the cafeteria with the rest of the inmates." A deep voice orders and Dick turns to see a guard standing by his cell. Maybe he'd take Dick somewhere else if Dick disobeys him, maybe Dick would be safer there.

"Didn't you hear what I said?! Get up!" The guard shouts, but Dick ignores him and turns back to the wall.

"This is your last warning! Get up or-"

"Hey hey Henderson it's cool. He's with me." A familiar voice states and the guard grumbles something before leaving.

"What did I fucking say about not gaining more attention?" Todd asks and Dick suddenly feels him pulling the blanket off of Dick.

"Now get down from there so I can fucking eat." Todd continues and Dick closes his eyes, maybe Todd would leave if Dick tried extra hard to ignore him.

"Fucking hell-" Arms grab him and haul him off the bunk and Dick immediately lets out a pathetic yell, flailing away from Todd.

"Okay, calm the fuck down." Todd forces, letting go of Dick so he falls onto the ground.

"Leave me alone." Dick breathes angrily, scooting away from Todd.

"Listen, either you fucking do as I say or you'll be thrown into isolation and that fucking sucks. Now come on." Todd puts out a hand and Dick stares at it before slowly reaching out and grabbing it.

Todd hoists him up and Dick lets out a pained sound, his ribs hurting from last night. Todd ignores it and mutters to Dick to stay close before letting go of his hand and walks out of the cell to the cafeteria. Dick follows, one step behind Todd as they enter. Dick immediately spots Jack sitting by Tony's table, and Jack waves him over. Dick looks away and Todd seems to have spotted Jack because he sends a glare at Jack, causing him to stop waving and shrink in his seat.

"Follow me." Todd mutters, pulling Dick to the line.

They get their food and Todd sits down by two other guys, one with dark skin and a buzz cut, the other boy was light skinned with striking red hair and freckles. Todd pulls Dick to sit down next to the boy with the buzz cut and Dick complies, slowly grabbing his ham piece and putting it on his toast.

"Who's this Todd?" The guy next to Todd asks and Dick keeps his gaze on his food.

"He's with me." Todd answers, easily deflecting the question.

"Yeah? Alright then, I'm Roy, that's Pierce." The boy states and Dick slowly looks up, nodding slowly before looking back down at his food.

"Shut up Roy." Todd mutters, shoveling in the beans into his mouth.

"Dude, you-"

"Dick?" Jack's voice causes Dick flinch as he looks up, Jack's standing right next to him with pleading eyes.

"Hey! Why you calling us-"

"It's his fucking name." Todd interrupts Pierce with a tired but still angry voice and Dick turns to look at Todd before looking back at Jack.

"Rickie, why aren't you sitting with us? Tony's getting us better food, just come over there instead." Jack pleads and Dick sends him an empty look before turning back to his toast, slowly taking a bite from it, savoring the taste of something different than what had been in his mouth earlier.

"I don't think he wants to, why don't you go and be a bitch somewhere else." Todd utters, glaring at Jack.

"Rickie please." Jack's pleading but Dick ignores him and focuses on his bread.

Finally, Jack leaves and Dick's body relaxes, not that he noticed himself tensing up in the first place.

"Fucking rabbit." Todd mutters, shoveling in more food in his mouth.

"Rabbit?" Dick croaks, looking up at Todd.

"Yeah, didn't you see his fucking teeth?" Todd replies between his bites.

"You okay?" Pierce asks Dick, but Todd answers in his place.

"He's fine, shut up."

"Damn, what crawled up your ass and died?" Roy huffs, causing Todd to mutter something under his breath before shoveling in more food.

Roy and Pierce start discussing something that Dick thinks is football-related while Todd angrily shoves in more food. Dick doesn't look at anyone except his bread for the rest of the breakfast. Afterwards, Todd drags him to their class and guides him to the seat next to him in the middle row instead of the front row.

"But-" Dick tries to say something, anything but Todd only tells him to shut up before practically shoving him down in the seat.

Dick turns quiet and Todd slams down a paper and a pen on Dick's desk. Roy and Pierce sit down behind them and Todd turns towards them, muttering something about Mr. Brown. Dick starts sketching on his paper. He isn't exactly sure of what until Zitka is looking back at him and Dick has to bite down on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying.

"Okay class. We'll start with math today. Can someone tell me what this-" Mr. Brown stops himself as he notices Dick's bench being used by someone else.

His gaze travels through the classroom until it lands on Dick, he's about to say something when Dick suddenly feels Todd turning back towards Mr. Brown and sending him a challenging look as he's angling himself towards Dick. Mr. Brown quickly turns back to the board and starts writing down an equation, asking a boy in the front to answer. Jack turns back towards Dick, sending him a sad look that Dick ignores.

He writes down the answer on his paper, and realizes that Todd is studying him. Dick turns towards him and realizes that Todd must have given him his own pen and paper because his desk is empty apart from his arms resting on it. Dick looks up at Todd who huffs at him before leaning back on his chair again. Mr. Brown doesn't bother him for the whole class.

.

The only time Dick has to talk to Jack is when they're back in their cell. Dick stays on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling as he tries to make sense of why Todd helped him today. Todd didn't even like him, which he'd made clear to Dick during the whole day since he shot down every question to him and told Dick to shut up.

"Rickie? Talk to me, come on." Jack pleads from his own bed and Dick turns towards him for a moment before turning back to the ceiling.

"Don't you see? I was doing this for us Rickie, I'm being a good brother." Jack states and Dick angrily turns towards him again.

"You're a _coward_!" Dick growls as Jack climbs down from his bed and up to Dick's.

"Tony can give us better food, he can give us anything we want. We're better under his protection, please Ricki trust me." Jack's eyes are begging Dick to listen, so Dick gets up and edges closer to Jack.

"I'd rather die." He snaps, pushing Jack off his bed and it's only a miracle that Jack doesn't fall from the high bunk bed.

His expression turns from pleading to something cold, something that makes a deep part in Dick shiver. Jack grabs onto the railing harder, glaring back at Dick.

"Fine. Have it your way and see how long you'll make it, you think Todd can save you? He'll be out here in no time and then you'll be alone and begging me to help you." Jack states before climbing down from Dick's bed.

Dick turns towards the wall, laying down under his blanket and hopes that Jack can't hear the tears running down his face. Jack was a coward, he really was, but at least he'd been a friend. The only friend Dick had here, and now Dick was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will start from Dick's perspective at Linden!  
> It's going to be a little shorter than this but it's got some sensible fluff and angst in there so stay tuned!  
> Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I wanna know it all! (:
> 
> Stay safe and eat cake! (:


	3. Chasing Reality

Todd still let's Dick be with him and his friends, but he's not like Jack.

Jack would talk to Dick, tell him about everything he knew, about their dreams and about their future. Todd doesn't live like that, he lives in the moment and the only time he smiles or laughs is when he's talking to Roy and Pierce about something Dick usually doesn't understand, or play basketball. Still, Todd always went and got Dick every morning and drops him off at his cell in the evening. Todd was... confusing, he didn't say anything nice to Dick and yet he still helps him, still makes sure that Dick is safe. Tony and his boys come back most nights, not that Dick tells Todd or anyone else. Who was he supposed to tell? What was he supposed to say?

Nothing.

So he keeps it to himself, scrubs his mouth raw until there's blood and then he buries himself in his bunk until Todd comes and gets him in the morning.

Then Tony invites Jack to join them one night. Jack looks down at Dick with empty eyes while Dick's are filled with tears, neither of them able to form anything other than grunts. Tony pats Jack on his back once he's done and only leaves once his two other boy's are satisfied as well. Dick buries his face into his pillow and cries that night too, hoping to never have to wake up ever again.

He does however, wake up. Dick wakes up to Todd shaking his shoulder as he tells him to get the fuck up.

"Leave me alone!" Dick sobs, suddenly full on crying again.

"What the fuck, get up. I don't have time for this shit." Todd grunts as Dick tries to merge himself into the wall.

"Don't touch me!" Dick shouts as Todd tries to grab for him again.

"Shut the fuck up, do you want us to get into trouble?!" Todd hisses, causing Dick to turn towards him with red eyes.

"I don't care! Why are you even here?!" Dick sobs out, pushing at Todd with weak arms.

Todd doesn't answer him, instead he studies him like Dick is one of Mr. Brown's equations which was kind of funny considering that Todd never pays attention to anything in that classroom.

"You're not even nice to me! Just tell me why you're helping me!" Dick shouts and Todd suddenly grabs ahold of the front of Dick's sweater, yanking him forward.

"Because you need it!" Todd answers, blue eyes resembling a storm inside of him that Dick's never seen before.

Dick slowly calms down, tears slowly coming to a stop and Todd lets out a frustrated sound as he studies Dick's face.

"You need it. I look at you and... fuck you don't belong here, you're not like the rest of us in here, just let me fucking help you kid." Todd's voice was still full of frustration, but there was something else lurking underneath, something softer; kinder.

"What's your name?" Dick finally mumbles out, pulling away so Todd let's go of his already too big sweater.

"What?"

"You know my name, what's yours?" Dick asks and Todd huffs.

"Jason," he finally answers after a couple of seconds and Dick sends him a small smile which causes Jason to roll his eyes and shake the tension out of his body "come on let's get breakfast, I'm craving beans."

Dick lets Jason help him out of the bunk and Dick latches onto Jason's sweatshirt with his left hand. Jason looks down at him with a raised eyebrow but doesn't push him away when they walk to the cafeteria.

Somewhere inside Dick a warmth slowly starts to spread inside of him, with every moment Jason smiles at him or when he manages to say something that makes Jason roll his eyes at him. It gets better, somehow it gets better.

:

Talon's not sure how long he's stuck in that dream, or was it something else? Something more? Something real?

Jason, Red Hood-Jason stays with Talon. Jason keeps him away from Batman and Talon slowly starts to remember more of Jason.

Jason, who's just as good at basketball as he is at swearing. Jason who laughs when Dick tells him about the one time he fell into Zitka's poop, or when Jason rolls his eyes at Dick when Dick tells him a flower dies whenever he swears but somehow stops swearing for a couple of minutes at least.

Talon stays in the room for days, maybe weeks. Jason stays with him too, only leaves for short periods of time and usually comes back with new clothes and wet hair. Still, it doesn't take long until Jason pulls Talon out of the room and into a new one, this one has a big tub in a corner that is full of water. 

"Okay Dickie I'm going to help you clean up a bit since you stink like shit." Jason teases as he helps Talon out of his suit before stepping into the bath.

It's nice and warm and bigger than the coffin. Talon studies Jason who's standing a bit further away, holding a bottle of something.

"I'm just going to wash your hair, if it makes you feel uncomfortable or if you don't want to just tell me." Jason's voice was kind.

Jason was kind.

Jason had always been kind to Talon, he'd helped Talon take down his targets and worried about Talon when he was hurt. Jason was nothing like anyone Talon's met before, Jason saw Talon as something more than a weapon, something more than a thing. A... person?

Jason slowly moves forward and explains to Talon how the washing was going to be done before starting. It feels nice, like Jason was massaging Talon's scalp which had healed since the fight. Talon let's his eyes fall shut, relaxing into the calmness he so rarely gets to experience, or at least never gets to enjoy. The calmness of the coffin was nothing compared to this; this was warm and safe and Talon didn't have to dream to be with Jason because Jason was here.

Once Talon is all cleaned up from the blood and dirt Jason helps him out of the tub and pulls a soft towel around Talon before guiding Talon to a new room. The smell indicates that it's Jason's bedroom and Jason helps Talon dry off before pulling some clothes out for Talon that are more like the ones in Talon's dreams rather than the suit in Talon's reality. These clothes were soft and warm, in colors of red and black rather than blue and white. Once Talon is dressed Jason leads it down a big staircase and into a kitchen.

"Here Dick, this is the man who's the real boss." Jason states and points to an old man with gray hair and wrinkles all over his face while his black suit is completely free of them.

"I'm Alfred Pennyworth, at your service sir. You must be Richard 'Dick' Grayson, a friend of Master Jason." The man, Alfred, states with a gentle smile and Talon swallows.

"Talon is not..." Talon trails off, unsure of what to say but the old man only nods with an understanding look on his face that makes Talon even more unsure.

Why was he understanding? What did he have to be understanding of?

"I understand that it must be quite confusing for you. If you two would like to go and sit down in the dining area we'll be having dinner soon." Alfred explains and Talon nods slowly, one hand fisted into Jason's shirt.

"Come on Dickie, let's get some food for you." Jason says, leading him to another room with a long table.

Another person is already sitting there, typing on a laptop without looking up at them. Jason helps Talon onto a chair in front of the other boy before sitting down next to Talo and Talon let's go of Jason's shirt before he accidentally rips it.

"Replacement, this is Dick." Jason states and the boy looks up, his eyes widen as he takes in Talon's features.

"Dick?" The boy repeats and Talon immediately looks down, playing with the ends of his sleeves.

"Yeah, he's staying with us." Jason states and Talon looks up at him.

"But Jason... isn't he a talo-"

"Shut up." Jason interrupts and Talon looks up at him with a small smile.

"Your mood swings are really bad... giving me a whiplash." Talon murmurs and Jason immediately turns back to him, eyes flash with surprise before he huffs and smiles down at Dick.

"You little shit." He muses, an arm going around Talon's (or is it Dick's?) shoulders.

"He's a keeper." Tim, the boy in front of Talon, comments and Talon looks up to see him smiling at both of them.

A new person walks into the dining room, then freezes as soon as they spot Talon.

"What is that _thing_ doing here!?" A child's voice utters and Talon knows that voice.

Redbird. The child in the doorway resembles Redbird, but his suit is replaced by a pair of tailored black pants along with a black turtleneck.

Batman is suddenly storming into the room too, eyes blazing with rage and Talon immediately flinches backwards. Redbird is pushed behind Batman who ushers him out of the room before turning towards Talon. 

"The talon is supposed to stay in the cell." Batman growls and takes a step forward.

There's no escape apart from the doorway behind Batman. Talon grabs onto the back of Jason's shirt as they both get up and Jason turns to send Talon a reassuring look that all would be okay, but a memory lodged deep inside Talon's mind forces Talon to grip Jason's shirt harder. Talon needs to save Jason, keep him safe from Talon's enemies. Jason, who's already been caught in the crossfire once.

Talon tugs Jason behind him as Batman continues to move. Talon keeps Jason behind him, something he can only manage thanks to the strength the Court gave him.

"The Red Hood is under the Court of Owl's protection." Talon bares it's teeth at Batman who's almost in front of him now.

"He was supposed to stay in his cell." Batman growls at Jason and Talon instinctively takes a step forward as to shield Jason from the threat.

"He was fine! He remembers things again and we couldn't keep him there forever! It's already been almost three weeks!" Jason argues, trying to get in front of Talon but he doesn't stand a chance against Talon's strength.

"He's not fine. Jason I told you-"

"Do not interfere with the Court!" Talon interrupts as Batman's only two feet away from them now.

"Dickie it's okay, he's not going to hurt me. Bruce back the fuck off." Jason's voice rises and Batman's hand reaches for Jason.

Talon doesn't remember the rest. Talon doesn't remember pushing Jason away and grabbing the silverware on the table, stabbing Batman with it. Doesn't remember Batman grabbing Talon by the neck and slamming him into the wall. Talon doesn't remember hissing at Batman, trying to fight against Batman's hold but Talon's legs are dangling in the air while his hands desperately try to crush Batman's, causing Batman to squeeze harder against Talon's throat.

"Don't you understand that by you being here you're endangering Jason more. The Court of Owls will come of him, come for all of us and kill us." Batman growls and Talon tenses in his hold, eyes immediately moving towards Jason who's being helped up by the boy, Tim.

This is when Talon comes back to himself because Talon's eyes suddenly zero in on the blood. There's blood on Jason's face, by the side of his head and Talon had done that. Talon had hurt Jason, had pushed him back too hard, had knocked him into the wall too hard.

"You see, you've already hurt him. Now if you wish to save him then leave and don't come back." Batman growls again, and Talon's hands let go of Batman's wrists.

Talon closes his(it's?) eyes. Talon has to protect Jason, Talon can't lose him again, can't watch him get hurt because of Talon again.

Batman let's go of Talon and Talon shakily gets to his feet as Batman steps out of the way towards the exit.

"Dick no, don't listen to him. Fuck just-" 

Talon doesn't stay and listen to what Jason is saying.

Talon runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeyeyeye one chapter left ((:  
> How's everything going to come together with just one chapter left???  
> No one knows.
> 
> Stay safe! (:  
> Comment & kudos are always appreciated!


	4. Chasing You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've recently become OBSESSED with Hamilton, if someone has any tips on how to not become annoying and start rapping his verses every time someone uses a word like "satisfied, shot, sir" (didn't mean to alliterate but here we are) like literally anything that's a part of the play. I've even been trying to learn French so I can rap Lafayette's parts...
> 
> Anyways enjoy. Descriptions of violence in this chapter so maybe skip the middle part if you have a queasy stomach, nothing graphic tho so you'll probably be fine (((((::::

The masters punish Talon once Talon gets back.

They punish Talon worse when Talon refuses to say where he's been, why he's wearing different clothes and why the mission was a failure. They force Talon, yes force because Talon doesn't want to comply anymore, down onto a cold metal table and strap him down. They strip away all of his Talon features, his strength, his agility and leave his healing abilities to the bare minimum until there's nothing left but weakness and hurt. They then proceed to hurt Talon, whip him until his back is painted red and his screams have turned into nothing but harsh breaths. They hurt Talon until all Talon's mind can drift to is icebergs and words that shouldn't be uttered and Talon wishes that he just dies where he is so that he might dream of Jason forever.

They don't let him.

Instead, they put him back in his coffin once the hurt is done. Talon doesn't try to fight them anymore, he knows that it's pointless. They push him onto the cold deathbed, talks among themselves how they'll wait for a couple of generations until they'll put Talon back in service. They close the coffin and Talon is left to stare up at the glass, only watching his own reflection. 

It's over, everything's over.

It was stupid of Talon to think that he could be someone, that he could be a he. He's not, he's an it. A weapon, a thing to use and whatever Jason had tried to accomplish was for nothing, Talon had hurt him, a testament of what Talon was. 

Talon let's it's eyes drift until it doesn't see anything except for a blurry image of blue skies or are those blue eyes?

Talon dreams, maybe for the last time.

:

Dick doesn't know how or when it happened but Jason starts to like him, or at least starts to show it. One month turns into almost seven and Dick knows that Jason's time in here is limited, unlike Dick's. Roy and Pierce are already out of Linden and Jason's only got a couple of months left until he's free while Dick could be here until he's eighteen. It's a scary thought, that Jason would come to leave Dick, that Dick would be all alone.

"Dickie stop daydreaming." Jason's voice causes Dick to look up.

They're in the cafeteria, eating lunch that was disgusting enough to resemble the dirt back at the circus.

"Jason did you know that elephants think we look like puppies?" Dick asks, turning to his side where Jason's sitting.

"No way." Jason answers, shoveling in a spoon of overcooked rice and stew in his mouth.

"Yeah it's true, it's something about their brains. Haly told me that, that's why they're always so happy when they see us." Dick continues happily while pushing around the food on his tray.

"That's fucked up, stop playing with your food." Jason points at Dick's tray with his spoon and Dick rolls his eyes.

"Don't swear, another flower-"

"I couldn't give a shi-crap about a flower Dickie, now eat your food before it gets cold." Jason interrupts and Dick huffs but takes a spoonful of rice and stew, swallowing it with a grimace.

"What did you like most at the circus Dick?" A boy at their table asks, he's about twelve years old and has been sitting with them for about a month. He's nice and Dick enjoys his company, although he rarely sees him since the boy, Adam, usually keeps to himself.

"Zitka, she was the best." Dick answers, body sagging with longing.

"Don't sweat it kid, she's probably out there somewhere eating hay or whatever shit elephants eat." Jason comments and Dick nods, taking another bite of his food.

"I liked seeing different cities too. There are more stars in other cities, or not really but you see them better in other cities. Did you know that there is like a _billion_ stars?" Dick asks, looking up at Jason again who huffs.

"Bet there's a billion rice grains waiting for you to eat them too."

"Ha-ha Jay." Dick sarcastically answers, and a cough causes Dick to immediately turn to his right.

Jack was standing by their table, blonde hair pushed away from his eyes and a hand scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Dick, I need to speak with you right now." Jack states and his voice lacks the normal resentment he holds most nights.

"Get out of here rabbit-shit." Jason says between his bites and Jack's eyes are almost pleading.

"Rickie please."

"What is it?" Dick asks, unconsciously scooting closer to Jason.

"Can I talk to you alone?" Jack asks and Dick swallows. He doesn't want to talk to Jack alone, he's not stupid and naive anymore, he knows that Jack could be tricking him but there was something on Jack's face; fear.

Dick nods and is about to get up but Jason's hand latches onto Dick's wrist and forces him back. "Not a chance. Sit down and eat your food."

Dick turns towards Jason and Jason meets his eyes. Jason's eyes are relentless, the 'no' in them firm and clear but Dick's eyes are soft, begging Jason to let him help Jack.

"If you so much as lay a finger on him you're dead." Jason threatens Jack before letting go of Dick's wrist.

Dick follows Jack out of the cafeteria which was unusual since the guards never allows anyone to leave until lunch is over. They stop in an empty hallway and Dick crosses his arms, waiting for Jack to start.

"It's Tony. He... he's going to change his shower time to yours when Todd isn't there. If you don't... if you don't comply with him he's going to hurt me." Jack states and Dick tenses.

Dick's been lucky, he's never had to shower with Tony and his gang since they always shower in different blocks and Tony's never been in his. Why would Tony do this now? He's almost eighteen, only a month away until he's moving up to the real jail and Tony's already hurt him, made him want to hurt himself. What more could Dick give him? What more could Tony take and why would Tony hurt Jack if Dick didn't do as he said?

"Why are you with him?" Dick asks, keeping his voice steady and Jack sags.

"He's helping me. Before you came here another group was... messing with me, but they stopped. Now Tony helps me, protects me from them." Jack states and Dick closes his eyes, what was he supposed to do?

"Rickie please, he'll hurt me and maybe even kill me." Jack continues and Dick looks back at him.

"What is he going to do to me? It's not going to be like the other times, is it?" Dick asks, voice barely over a whisper and Jack shakes his head.

"I don't... you're going to get through it, you're strong." Jack forces and Dick turns away from him, walking back towards the cafeteria.

"Hey Rickie come on don't-" Jack grabs onto Dick's wrist, harder than Jason's grip, hard enough to hurt.

"Let go of me Jack." Dick whispers but Jack doesn't.

"You have to! Rickie he'll kill me!" Jack's shouting now and Dick wrenches his wrist out of Jack's hold before walking back into the cafeteria, but instead of walking to Jason's table, Dick walks to Tony's.

"What do you want?" Dick asks, he wants to be angry but his voice only sounds tired.

"You'll have to be more specific." Tony answers, looking bored.

"Why are you threatening Jack? Why are you hurting me? What do you want?" Dick asks again, he's tired of this. It would be easier to just give Tony whatever he wants so he'll finally leave Dick alone.

"You don't seem to get it Gypsy boy, so I'll explain. I'm the _King_ here, and _whatever_ I want, I get. Right now, I want you. If you don't do as I say there'll be consequences." Tony shrugs and Dick lets out a low breath before meeting Tony's eyes.

"You're not a king, you're just a criminal." Dick states before turning and walking back to Jason.

"What the fuck were you doing at Tony's table!? Are you fucking insane?! What did I fucking tell you about keeping your head down huh?!" Jason's livid as he pulls Dick down into his seat and Dick shrugs.

"Don't swear, a-"

"Dick! I can protect you from a lot but not Tony and his contacts, now tell me what the fuck just happened so I can fucking fix it." Jason takes a slow measured breath and Dick shrugs again.

"You can't, it's okay." Dick answers, taking a spoon of rice and stew into his mouth and Jason lets out a desperate laugh.

"Dick I swear to whatever god is up there-"

"Lunch is over, get out in the courtyard." A guard shouts and Dick hears everyone groaning.

"I'm fine." Dick states before grabbing his tray and getting up to join the line where people dump their food.

Jason drops it and they walk out on the courtyard in silence. Dick sits down close to the basketball court, watching Jason and the others play basketball. Dick sneaks glances towards where Jack is sitting with Tony and his boys. It's strange, even though there's been months since Jack left Dick and chose Tony, it's still weird to see him there with the others. Dick looks back at Jason who's in the middle of shooting a three-pointer. He turns towards Dick with a self-satisfied grin and Dick rolls his eyes at Jason's antics. Dick doesn't know a lot about basketball but he thinks that it would be more fun if they would pass the ball more before just shooting it.

"Dick." Jack's voice causes Dick to flinch as his hand touches Dick's shoulder.

"Dick please-" Jack tries but suddenly Jason's in front of them, pushing Jack off Dick.

"Get the fuck off him, don't touch him." Jason shouts and Jack immediately scrambles up on his feet.

"Hey Todd, lay off my boy will you?" Tony's voice causes Dick to momentarily stiffen as he turns and sees Tony trailing over to them with two of his boys, the ones who usually come with him to Dick's cell.

"You can tell _your_ boy to leave _my_ boy alone then." Jason snarls, grabbing Dick and pushing him behind Jason.

"Your boy?" Tony asks, looking close to laughing but his face turns into a smirk instead "oh damn, he hasn't told you has he?" Tony turns his eyes towards Dick and Dick can't help but stare at the ground instead, hand nervously fisting the back of Jason's shirt. Everyone out on the courtyard has grown quiet, watching the scene unfold and Dick just wishes that the guards would come and put an end to it.

They don't, they're Tony's usual guards and probably doesn't interfere unless Tony waves them over.

"Leave him alone Tony." Jason snaps, irritated by Tony's cockiness.

"Your boy hasn't told you what he does every night? How good he is on his knees?" Tony asks with a grin and Dick feels Jason tensing.

Jason turns back towards Dick, expression chilling and Dick bites his lip hard refusing to meet his eyes.

"What did you just say?" Jason asks, voice dangerous and Tony chuckles.

"Been going on for the whole time he's been here, he's a really good cock-sucker, you should take him for a ride if you haven't already."

Everything happens so fast.

One minute Jason is staring at Dick with something that can only be described as fearfulness, then his expression turns to indescribable rage while he lets out a sound that's almost inhuman while throwing himself at Tony. Dick loses his grip on Jason and watches in horror as throws a had punch, probably breaking something in Tony's face. People are shouting, chanting but Dick stands frozen. He wants to do something, to help Jason, to get him away from Tony but he's stuck, just like when his parents died. Instead he only watches while they continue to fight, Tony throwing punches back but doesn't stand a chance against Jason. Another thought enters Dick's mind, a different horror because Jason _knows_. Jason knows what Dick's been doing every night, that Dick's dirty and probably more messed up than Jason's vocabulary. Jason is yelling incoherent things while he throws punch after punch and then Tony reaches for something in his pockets and Dick can't see properly but whatever he reaches for he uses when he punches Jason in the stomach.

Then, just as suddenly as it starts it ends. Guards force them off each other but something's wrong, there's blood. Dick's eyes zeroes in on a big patch of blood coming from Jason's stomach.

Dick unfreezes, he screams.

Jason's eyes sluggishly turn towards him and Dick runs forward. He doesn't know what he's supposed to do, he just sobs and tries to pull up Jason's sweatshirt to find where the blood is coming from. The guards let him as they call for backup, swearing and forcing Tony away from the scene. A bloody fist grabs onto the front of Dick's sweatshirt and Dick's tear-filled eyes stare into Jason's slightly unfocused ones.

"Dickie, it's okay." Jason manages, voice slurring and Dick shakes his head hard.

No, Jason can't die because of him. Dick can't watch another person die, another person that he loves.

"Jason please, please don't leave me." Dick sobs and Jason huffs.

"You get out of here... and you tell Zitka I said hi." Jason swallows hard, grip loosening and Dick is suddenly pulled off Jason.

"No! No! Let me go! He needs me, let me go!" Dick's trashing in the guard's hold but they don't let up as two other guards grab Jason by his armpits, hauling him away from the courtyard.

That's the last time Dick sees Jason.

:

Somewhere the dream gets foggy and Talon's mind enters that safe place where Talon doesn't have to think about anything. Talon doesn't have to think about Jason, about being Richard Grayson, about hurting.

Talon becomes nothing.

But then.

Something.

SomethingSomethingSomethingSomething.

Something is happening, someone's talking but it sounds like it's underwater.

"Dickie, fuck come on. Come on, I'm here just... fuck Dickie." Someone is... begging?

"Dick wake the fuck up!"

"Jason, his body might be too damaged."

"Shut up! Dick come on!"

Jason.

JasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJason

Dick peels his eyes open, blinking up at bright lights.

"That's it, come on Dick. It's okay now, I'm here." Jason's voice guides Dick through the haze until Dick's eyes lock onto Jason's face.

Jason's face, not the red helmet, not Red Hood. 

Jason.

Jason with a white streak in his hair and scabs on his face that makes something in Dick tremble.

Dick. 

Because he's Dick, not Talon, or maybe both?

But he's Dick for sure, whatever he is, whoever he is.

Dick.

"Jason?" Dick croaks and Jason's... crying?

"Yeah, fuck yeah it's me. It's okay, you're going to be okay." Jason manages and Dick nods up at him, head feeling heavy.

"Are... are you okay?" Dick whispers and Jason let's out a wet laugh, brushing Dick's dark locks out of his face.

"Fuck yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO IT'S OVER!
> 
> A lot of questions remain unanswered and isn't that just a treat ((:  
> I'm going to do a serie about their continued journey with both stories of angsty-pangsty and fluffy-duffy-ness(?)
> 
> I hope you liked this and thanks for reading and commenting! It LITERALLY makes my day.  
> Anyways thank you again and I hope I see you around!  
> Also the title for me refers on how Dick finds himself, like the you is him but it can be interpreted in any way but just wanted to put that out there.
> 
> Stay safe and don't chafe too hard!  
> Comments & kudos are appreciated!  
> (:


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